Swing, Swing
by PrsctrTails
Summary: Some Jyler fluff/humor for Thanksgiving. Per usual, dedicated and inspired by my Jyler Family on Tumblr.
1. Chapter 1

There was something decently poetic about the crack of the wooden bat that was sending baseballs into the night sky on a sharp, upwards path.

Besides being a slightly more modern version of _The Natural_, Tyler loved the stress relief aspect of it all. Using a blunt, wooden object to smash something was beyond delightful. He had a backyard gigantic enough, and a forest, so he saw no need to actually care about the noise or how far the baseballs were traveling. His rival the pitching machine was doing a crap job of trying to get a ball past him.

He would grunt with every swing. Not in an overdramatic way, but more in a 'this is really, really fun' type of way. He took a particularly good swing, sending a ball into high orbit.

"Yeah!" He almost howled, face an almost roaring smile.

"You don't worry that someone might have baseballs raining down on them?"

"Nah," Tyler shrugged, giving a pleased, sighing laugh as the machine powered off due to a lack of pitchable baseballs. "What's up, Jer?"

"Not much," Jeremy shrugged. "Got your text. Was I supposed to come here and watch you swing a bat?" It seemed mundane, really. But that was before Tyler removed his shirt. Then absolutely nothing else mattered. In fact, Jeremy was entirely sure why he was here.

"Drink it in, Gilbert." Tyler bragged, face sliding into that smile that made Jeremy tingle from toes to scalp.

"Oh…oh I am," Jeremy blushed, running a hand through his hair. He wasn't sure how, but he had basically come to worship at the altar that was Tyler Lockwood. Sure, the body was great, but so was everything else. The smile, the jokes, the attitude [Tyler was a dick, but he was _Jeremy's dick_], and the erection-inducing growls, all of it was amazing and all of it belonged to Jeremy and Jeremy alone. "So, what's with the midnight batting practice?"

"Great stress reliever," Tyler shrugged, placing the bat behind his neck and draping his arms over it. This was yet another step on the path of male model type behavior that Tyler would do to Jeremy for shared amusement. Jeremy eventually, and a little shyly, made his way over to Tyler. No sooner than his arms could reach, then his hands were smack against the sweaty hardness of Tyler's abs. "Oh, soft hands." Tyler laughed, leaning forward to give Jeremy the tiniest of bites on his chin. Hey, he was a wolf.

"Thanks," Jeremy blushed. Compliments from Tyler always felt so weird. Lockwood was so…perfect. In every aspect. How he had wound up in love with Jeremy was something only the stars really knew. He was sure Tyler was full of reasons, and this moment with whispering crescent moon and adoring celestial seascape, seemed like a great time to ask.

Jeremy, however hesitantly, removed his hands from Tyler's abs and eased himself down on the ground, casting his gaze upon the great Galactic Railroad above. Tyler quickly joined him. Their hands linked quickly.

"So, Tyler…I'm going to pull an old school move here and do something that once upon a time would make you punch me." Jeremy half-laughed.

"Go on, Gilbert," Tyler laughed. "I'll just do something physical to you later." He said, entirely a promise.

"What makes me attractive to you?"

"…. Screw you, Jer." Tyler laughed, genuinely happy. Most people didn't know that happy was an emotion that Tyler Lockwood could access.

"I was trying to be serious," Jeremy blushed, almost reverting back to his introverted and entirely unfriendly manner.

"Dude, the words to describe you don't exist. Don't blame me," Tyler shrugged, giving Jeremy's hand a sharp squeeze. "I'm a werewolf. You see Ghosts. When these things make up our lives, words don't mean that much."

Huh. That had been a lot more poetic than Jeremy had expected. He knew Tyler was far from stupid, but he always liked it when he showed flashes of just how sharp his mind was. He rolled slightly so his head was resting on the artistic glory that was Tyler's chest. Tyler draped an arm around him in a pretty protective manner. Hey, he was a wolf.

"I like you for a lot of reasons, Jer," Tyler began. "I laugh around you. I smile. I have fun when I'm with you. Besides, I bought you your first car. That's all you need to know about my feelings."

"I love that car," Jeremy laughed. "It's so cool."

"Damon said it was 'very Jeremy' when he first found it," Tyler explained. "Whatever that means." Jeremy just laughed.

The two were happy to relax and gaze up at the starlight symphony above. Jeremy broke the silence.

"It's cool you're a werewolf," He said. "I love how…haha, I love how you growl over me."

On cue, Tyler did it. Because it was so quiet outside, the deep and husky snarl carried for quite a long ways. Jeremy felt himself turn into one large goose bump. "Yeah, that."

"Gotcha." Tyler said knowingly.

"But yeah, it's cool you're a werewolf." Jeremy repeated. He could never really say it enough.

"Yeah?" Tyler asked.

"Yep," Jeremy nodded. "But, like all dogs, I'm going to start locking you out of my room at night if you keep farting in bed."

"That's a sign of trust." Tyler quickly countered.

"Like when you do it in the car?" Jeremy asked.

"No," Tyler answered. "That's just a dating hazard."

"Uh-huh," Jeremy laughed.


	2. Good Boy

[This chapter is personally dedicated to my dear friend Ashley of my Jyler Family.]

Baseball had given way to talking, which had given way to verbal expression, which had given way to a desire to be inside. Tyler had announced he was hungry, thus he wanted to eat. Jeremy nodded and followed, never one to get between a hungry Tyler Lockwood and food.

"So, what does _Wolfy_ want to eat?" Jeremy asked, stealing a line from Damon. Tyler arched an eyebrow.

"A-what did you just call me?" He asked, looking so bemused he couldn't even fake annoyance.

"Wofly," Jeremy smiled, doing very well to hide his laughter. "I mean, it's not inaccurate, right?"

Tyler laughed out a growl in response, knowing full well it would temporarily rob Jeremy of most of his mental faculties. It worked perfectly. Jeremy found himself a blushing, near giggly mess fairly quickly. Trying to hide his sudden inability to speak, Jeremy opened the fridge and fished out what appeared to be a Meatloaf. It quickly went into the microwave.

"What, not going to cook for me?" Tyler asked, grinning shyly just a little. "You're such a good cook." He said, sarcasm a-plenty.

"It's what? One in the morning?" Jeremy asked. "Your mommy's Meatloaf will suffice."

"Ha-ha, Gilbert," Tyler rolled his eyes, a little amused that Jeremy was comfortable enough around him to use his almost fang-sharp insults. "Good one."

"Oh, I know," Jeremy winked, relaxing as Tyler moved behind him, muscular arms wrapping around him. Rugged hands quickly moved over Jeremy's upper body. "Dude, your arms are...sick." Tyler gawked, feeling beyond dense for not knowing or noticing this earlier.

"Thanks," Jeremy blushed, flexing wherever he felt Tyler's hands. For a split second, he was a bit jealous of how cut Jeremy way, then he realized that the young Gilbert was forever his and jealousy was quickly replaced with thankful bliss. Jeremy rolled his eyes as he felt Tyler smile a kiss into his neck. "Just don't slobber on me, got it?"

"Again with the dog crap," Tyler laughed. "Seriously, what's with that?"

"Well...isn't it true?" Jeremy asked back, all genuine smiles.

"That's not the point," Tyler blushed. "It's not like I chase the mailman or crap on your lawn."

"You're naming negative traits," Jeremy said, reaching a hand up behind him to lovingly pat Tyler's cheek. "Don't make me into Damon."

"I was just naming dog traits." Tyler answered, sort of confused as he angled his face into Jeremy's always comforting hand.

"No, no," Jeremy laughed a little. "You named negatives. You left out how when I come by your house, you coming running to the door, tripping all over yourself in the process."

"I wouldn't call it tripping," Tyler lied, not knowing Jeremy was that observant. "What else?" He asked, voice getting a little quiter, showing his interest in the answer.

"It's a lot of stuff, Tyler," Jeremy said, spinning on the kitchen stool to look up at the adoring Lockwood. He looked so pretty in the pale whisps of crescent moonlight that had found their way into the large manor. "It's how I can fall asleep in my own bed alone and wake up with either next to me or on top of me."

Tyler blushed crimson.

"It's how I can know that if I whistle, I mean call or text, you'll be in front of me before I can even blink. It's how when I've had a completely shit day, you'll look at me like I'm the only thing in your world." Jeremy confessed.

"You are." Tyler answered, eyes catching an errant stream of light and shining may have only been two words, but they were beyond profound.

"It's all that stuff, Tyler," Jeremy said, smiling shyly yet broadly. "I can't describe it. Like how you act around me. Just me."

"Hmm?" Tyler asked, really curious about this latest one.

"This, baby," Jeremy breathed out. "You can't keep your hands off me, in a good way. At school you're so aloof all the dame time, but here, now? Look at you?"

Jeremy had a magnificent point, if only for his observational skills. When the two were alone, or with the right people, Tyler could not keep his hands off of Jeremy. But it went beyond that.

"I love how you can be a complete and total dick at school, then talk to me like you're a poet. How the big, bad Wolf isn't so big and bad with me."

"...Because it loves you," Tyler broke in, not content to let Jeremy do all the emotional work. "It loves how you've taken a lifetime of shit from the world, and then told the world to go screw itself. That is amazing to me. And I love it."

Jeremy was caught off-guard. He was supposed to be the one that clumsily confessed his deeper feelings.

"Jer, you're the bravest guy I've ever met. Not only is that sexy, but it's beautiful in a lot of ways," Tyler whispered, leaning forward to rest his forehead against Jeremy's. "That big, bad Wolf? You know, the one that howls at the moon? It howls because of you. Because after I'm done howling at that Full Moon, it knows where to go afterwards. I get to run wild and free, and then come back to you, you're my real home."

Jeremy set agape, all those big words he knew completely gone. His mouth twitched into a smile as Tyler shifted and rested his head in the groove between Jeremy's neck and shoulders. Tyler's breathing slowed into something else entirely. Every breath pushed out something that wasn't a growl, but it was very close. It was quieter and smoother, but with just enough of a primal tone to show how the young Lockwood really felt. Silence ebbed and flowed like a sporadic wind not entirely sure of its direction or force.

"What else?" Jeremy asked quietly. Tyler smiled.

"I love how when I crawl into your bed at night, Wolf or not, you can be sound asleep and you'll always wrap your arms around me. Always." Tyler breathed. "How when you wake up, you...you kiss me. I feel it every time, Jeremy."

In the back of his heart and soul, Jeremy knew Tyler had always felt it.

"I love how when we wake up in the morning, you will walk downstairs with me hand in hand," Tyler laughed, enjoying how he didn't have to climb out of window. "That's really...cool of you."

"Least I can do." Jeremy laughed, giving Tyler a pat on the back of the head. He noticed his boyfriend was about to speak when his breath caught. "Baby...what is it?"

"Nothing," Tyler laughed off, a little shy. "Just a lot of thoughts at once."

"Need your tummy rubbed?" Jeremy asked, somewhere between loving and serious.

"Maybe later," Tyler said, winking. "You owe me a meal."

"Yeah, yeah," Jeremy stood up, smiling the whole way. "Is a plate okay, or can I put it in your bowl?"

Tyler rolled his eyes, having seen the joke coming from a mile away. "A plate is fine, Gilbert."

Jeremy nodded as he pulled the Meatloaf from the microwave and slid it onto a plate. True to appetite, Tyler finished it in record time. "Couch or bed?" Tyler asked.

"Bed." Jeremy answered, looping an arm around Tyler's torso. It was the best choice, after all.

Stairs passed, clothes were discarded on the floor, leaving only two figures in their briefs as they sled under the covers, not wanting to become victims to the cold of the night. They shifted, trying to distribute the sheets and pillows properly. The symbolism was perfect in a very roundabout sort of way. From one end, an owner clung fiercely to his beloved dog, his constant and perfect companion. From the opposite end, a dog carefully and purposefully wriggled his way closer to the man he would do anything to protect.

With adoring yet drowsy eyes still open the two looked at each other, content to lose themselves to the secrets of each other's gazes. Smiles bounced off of both faces. Tyler pulled a hand up to run through Jeremy's hair, down his back, across his torso and arms. Across wherever, really.

"Perfect." Tyler whispered, meaning the word as deeply as he could.

"Kinda like you." Jeremy replied.


End file.
